Sumner Murray Rothstein was born on May 27, 1923, and raised in a lower-class section of Boston, where his father worked as a linoleum salesman. Redstone said he grew up in poverty, writing in his 2001 autobiography,, that his apartment had no toilet. "We had to walk down the corridor to use the pull-chain commode in the water closet we shared with the neighbors. That sort of living was all I knew, and I never felt less privileged than anyone else.
Redstone studied at the prestigious Boston Latin School where, he later wrote, "I was first exposed to the idea that thinking, educated and disciplined people have the power within themselves to create a new and better world." Six years removed from law school, Redstone was making $100,000 a year running his own firm, though disillusioned that practicing law had become "just a business." So, in 1954, Redstone went to work for his father’s burgeoning movie exhibition business at a salary of $5,000 a year. He traveled New England acquiring properties for the growing chain, which came to be known as National Amusements.
"I was on the phone with the movie studios' general managers, trying to get the best movies at the best prices," he recalled. "Barry Reardon at Warner Bros., Frank Mancuso, then the branch manager in Buffalo for Paramount, Jimmy Spitz at Columbia — these were the important people in my life." In a move to acquire Paramount Communications in 1993-94, Redstone fought QVC’s Barry Diller, his longtime friend, in the toughest battle of his career. The bidding war vastly inflated the cost of the conglomerate and its historic movie studio and placed Viacom more than $11 billion in debt. For years, Redstone would refer to Diller as his "$2 billion ex-friend" until Diller finally told him, "Lay off, will you, Sumner? Enough is enough.
During the war with Diller over Paramount, his legal team filed an antitrust suit against John Malone’s Tele-Communications Inc. , charging the distributor with trying to monopolize the cable business through “bully-boy tactics and strong-arming competitors.” In 1995, Viacom sold its cable systems to TCI for an estimated $2.25 billion, becoming, as Redstone said then, a “content-driven media company.
Succession for years was a hot topic at CBS and Viacom, but Redstone refused to seriously address that during his December 2013 interview with, during which he called Moonves "a miracle worker" and Dauman "one of the wisest men I have ever met."
Like bankrupting Midway.
After the first 91 years it’s to be expected.
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Great, long, informative article. Thanks.
ShariRedstone sherrylansing Thoughts and prayers for the loss of your Father and wonderful friend. Peace until you meet again.
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